Nonlethal Tasers would help curb prevent police killings

Police Chief Greg Suhr comments in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 about the officer involved shooting which resulted in the death of a man who refused to put down a knife in the Bayview district Wednesday.

Police Chief Greg Suhr comments in San Francisco, Calif. on...

It’s not just mass killings that seem to be happening on a weekly basis in America. Ugly police shootings are becoming distressingly common.

The San Francisco police shooting of Mario Woods in the Bayview last week may not be as bad as the Chicago police killing of Laquan McDonald, which led to the firing of that city’s police chief. But it’s troubling all the same.

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The obvious solution in a case like San Francisco’s — where officers were dealing with a man with a knife, who hadn’t been stopped by beanbag projectiles — would be to give officers more nonlethal weapons to choose from, such as Tasers.

Of course, we’ve been down that road in San Francisco more than once, and the cops still don’t have stun guns.

It’s interesting to note that some of the same people who have fought the hardest to keep police from getting Tasers are the ones protesting the loudest about the killing of Woods.

When it comes to holiday parties, Dede Wilsey’s is always the best. The gorgeous living room, the incredible pieces of art everywhere.

And of course, there is the couch. For the past 15 years, at least one person who has sat on the couch during the party has passed away within the year. I know, because I’ve been keeping tabs.

I saw Wilkes Bashford heading for it this year. I steered him away.

Glide Memorial’s party was appropriately titled “Love Matters.” We walked into the Warfield Theater to find a smiling Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani along with all the formerly homeless people their program has helped, all dressed to the nines.

The Landsmen, a group founded by the late criminal defense lawyer Nate Cohn, did their black-tie best at the Hyatt Regency. The honorees were Greg Cohen and Fred Furth, the renowned antitrust lawyer.

The night’s entertainment was high camp. Former U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello and onetime KTVU General Manager Kevin O’Brien cracked jokes aplenty. Funny but unprintable for a family newspaper. Noah Griffin did a great job in his tribute to Frank Sinatra, an act you can catch for yourself at the Herbst Theater on Friday.

O.J. and Gary Shansby’s party at Bimbo’s 365 Club on Columbus had seating determined by Christmas themes. I was at the “Silent Night” table. But I’m sure that was just a coincidence.

As the world recoils from the San Bernardino massacre, there’s no shortage of revolting revelations — not the least of which is the murderous couple’s accumulation of thousands of rounds of ammunition to go with their assault rifles and other high-powered weaponry.

Better gun control may not be the answer, but it sure would help.

Donald Trump is on a roll. He is 20 points up on Sen. Ted Cruz, stretching out the gap with Ben Carson and leaving a big cloud of dust for Jeb Bush, who is slipping toward micro-percentage territory.

And those were the numbers before the massacre in San Bernardino. Trump could do himself a whole lot of good if he would announce he would keep guns out of the hands of nuts and fanatics.

More likely, Trump will take more swings at Muslims instead. Oh wait, he already did — asked about his comment about the need for being “vigilant” when it comes to mosques, he said, “You have to look. I mean, there’s something wrong — something going on, all right?”